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laughhardrunfastbekindsblog · 3 days

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A question of loyalty: an analysis of two perspectives in season 1

The past few years, I have loved rewatching season 1 with the context of the finale, because it has been so interesting to really see things from Crosshair's perspective.

Our first hint that maybe Crosshair's motives aren't what we first thought:

Hunter's (and our) perspectives on the issue are further challenged:

And then we reach the ultimate accusation:

So, let's take a look at both sides.

POINT #1: "Crosshair was the one who kept attacking the squad! How could he POSSIBLY accuse the squad of betraying him??"

COUNTERPOINT: Because from his perspective, they had. We as the audience know the whole plan was for the squad to get Crosshair back after they escaped the brig on Kamino - in fact, Hunter was prepping to go back for Crosshair at the same time Crosshair was coming for them - but Crosshair doesn't know that. He had been arguing with his squad ever since Order 66, trying to get them to understand how important it was for them to follow orders, and they had yet another disagreement right before he was singled out. His inhibitor chip gets intensified, he gets sent after his brothers (as if Tarkin needed to do anything else to thoroughly disgust me...), and he finds them in the hangar prepping the Marauder to leave. (Just to reiterate: from Crosshair's perspective, he had recently been arguing with his brothers, and now he finds them readying to leave.) Hunter never tells him that they were coming back for him; instead, they engage in some back-and-forth about surrendering and following orders before the shooting begins.

Having left him on that note, it would be all too easy for Crosshair to work himself up over the perceived abandonment - especially if he started feeling any sort of regret over his actions toward his squad (finding a way to blame the other party is, after all, a common defense mechanism).

And every time they cross paths thereafter, instead of his brothers apologizing or listening or trying to come with him, they keep running away from him after arguing with him about how he's being controlled and forced to obey orders. I can't help but imagine that any mention of "programming" only served to stoke Crosshair's ornery side: he and his squad are "superior," after all; he can't be controlled, he is being a good soldier and following orders because HE chose to, not because of some stupid chip. (Cue Crosshair claiming it "doesn't matter" when he got his chip removed: his ideology remains the same, thank you very much.)

And so, from Crosshair's standpoint: his brothers abandoned him, they won't even talk to him except to try to convince him he's wrong about everything, and they're ruining any chance they have of finding "purpose" by remaining soldiers and serving the Empire.

POINT #2: "Hunter and the others didn't try hard enough to get Crosshair back - actually, they didn't try at all."

COUNTERPOINT: I think we overestimate just how much time passed between the Batch escaping Kamino and the events on Bracca (unless the squad was just hanging around in open space for weeks at a time, which I doubt). Consider how quickly events occur in the first eight episodes:

The squad narrowly escapes Kamino

They try to lay low at Cut and Suu's, but that lasts maybe two days before they are on the run again

The Marauder crashes

It's necessary to find a way to scramble the ship's signature, so they have to make a quick landing on Pantora

Enter Fennec

Well, now they have to find out why a bounty hunter is after Omega

Enter Cid

Cid pretty much immediately starts blackmailing them

They have to do another job for Cid - we don't know exactly how much time passed, but Cid doesn't seem to be one to wait to order the Bad Batch around, especially as this next job reasserts her claim on them.

Rex reappears - we don't know exactly how much time passed here, either, but I would guess Rex sought them out as soon as he was tipped off about them.

(Lest anyone think Tech must have just given up on the chip scanner after the Marauder crashed, remember that he needed comparative data in order to properly use the scanner. I can only imagine how much it must have eaten at Tech to not have any way of finding a source with the necessary data to complete the scanner - especially considering everything else going on - until Rex miraculously showed up.)

So, until reuniting on Bracca, there is precious little time or opportunity for the squad to formulate a plan to get Crosshair back... And then Bracca happens. Here, they are confronted by Crosshair, who responds to genuine pleas to reconsider his stance by hitting them where it hurts: "Aim for the kid." Crosshair then sets things up to literally incinerate them, and they barely make it out alive before being attacked by Cad Bane.

Now, they had seen what the chip had done to Wrecker, true; but Wrecker had previously acknowledged that he understood the chip existed and was willing to have it removed, AND it was squad+Rex against Wrecker (and even then they barely managed to subdue him). Crosshair refused to acknowledge even the possibility of a chip influencing his actions, obviously wasn't willing to have it removed at that point, had never shown any inclination of wanting to rejoin them, and squad+Rex against Crosshair+vast Imperial resources would have been suicide - ESPECIALLY since Crosshair proves time and again that he can predict their moves. There's no way around that.

So what does the squad decide to do? They run. They can't take Crosshair with them, but they aren't going to try to kill him either.

Crosshair remains too well protected for the squad to go after him, but we can see on Hunter's face as the squad leaves Ryloth after peripherally tangling with Crosshair that the situation REALLY doesn't sit well with Hunter.

And yet... WHAT ELSE CAN THEY DO?

So, from Hunter+squad's perspective: as far as they are aware, Crosshair is refusing all offers of help, and trying to go after Crosshair would be suicide. Crosshair can't be rescued if the squad is all dead.

An impasse, then.

ANOTHER FACTOR TO CONSIDER:

But the accusation of disloyalty goes far beyond Crosshair believing the squad left him behind; he sees disloyalty in the fact that they apparently don't share the same views. It's not just a conversation about why/how Crosshair was left behind; it's also an argument over ideology, as Hunter tries to point out the Empire's flaws while Crosshair is determined to remain a soldier with the one purpose he has always known.

And then we reach the climactic revelation: Hunter is trying to convince Crosshair that maybe his views are being controlled by the chip - only for Crosshair to tell Hunter he already knows about it and the chip is gone, AND he won't even tell Hunter when it happened. We can make educated guesses as to when Crosshair's chip was removed, but Hunter has been spending all this time trying to keep everyone else on the squad safe from a fellow brother who is being controlled by an inhibitor chip... only to find out that maybe Crosshair was acting of his own volition for who knows how long. This, I believe, is the point where Hunter started to consider Crosshair as having actually betrayed the Batch.

And no matter when the chip was removed, Crosshair is still convinced that the Empire is the right side, and believes that anyone who won't join the Empire is against him.

So, before the confrontation on Kamino: Crosshair is convinced the squad has abandoned him. Hunter and the squad can't feasibly do anything about it.

During the confrontation on Kamino, we learn that unless the squad is willing to join Crosshair and the Empire, he's going to continue to believe they have disowned him. And the squad will not join the Empire, much as they love Crosshair.

CONCLUSION: Crosshair's and Hunter's perspectives are both equally valid, especially based on what they know and later learn of the other's stance. Hunter rightly points out that wanting different things doesn't mean they have to be enemies; but as long as the rest of the squad members aren't willing to support tyranny enforce order, Crosshair will consider them disloyal to him, since they are opposed to the views he stands by, the views that - at that moment - define him. It will take other perspectives, outside the squad, to shift Crosshair's views (but that's the topic of another essay 😉). In the meantime, having finally had the chance to hear the other's side - even if they don't agree - Crosshair and the Bad Batch separate on at least marginally civil - if strained - terms... Though both still consider the other to be guilty of betraying the ideals of Clone Force 99.

#the bad batch #tbb #star wars #star wars the bad batch #clone force 99 #this is longer than i intended it to be #sorry not sorry #from a certain point of view #tbb hunter #tbb crosshair #tbb analysis #just passing the time until the series finale #by (over)analyzing certain topics #still rooting for a full reunion #i love them all so much

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missshezz · 3 months

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ontherocks21 · 5 months

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I didn't expect the suckerpunch to the emotional gut, but here I am wheezing and gasping for air after reading what Mackenzi Lee is putting down here.

She gets it.

The Skywalkers are wildfires, their passions scorching the dirt as soon as they're given a spark.

How different this galaxy would be if the Skywalkers didn't care so much.

The Skywalkers could level planets with their obstinacy. Though, Padmé was like that, too.

From There Is Always Another by Mackenzi Lee, From A Certain Point Of View: The Empire Strikes Back

#anakin skywalker #star wars #padme amidala #do yourself a favor #read this #from a certain point of view #mackenzi lee #all the feels #well technically Padmé is a Skywalker so...

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padmedefencesquad · 3 months

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Take Padmé Amidala, for example, whom I trusted to craft her own tragedy, and so she did. Even the virtuous will compromise their ethics in moments of fear. The question is never if they will betray themselves, but when, and how soon. Thus, a life spent fighting tyranny still launched an empire; how ironic that the legacy of the Republic's greatest champion would be my reign.

From "Then Fall, Sidious" by Olivie Blake in From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi

#padme amidala #palpatine #quotations #then fall sidious #olivie blake #from a certain point of view #return of the jedi #sw books #alexandra

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flowergirlmiwa · 1 year

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the post you just read is yuri. this post is yuri. the post you're about to read is yuri. you agree, reblog

#my post #the funny thing is it's probably true #from a certain point of view

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girlrandomstuff · 7 months

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do you ever think about leia getting to see bail and breha again at force heaven/afterlife?? cuz i do and i cry every time

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skynobi · 2 years

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But the shades of him in his son's face catapult me back in time, and all the years I spent by Anakin's side—fighting and teaching and laughing and arguing and nearly dying and saving each other over and over again—spill out across my mind. His stupid jokes. His bad posture. The way he never folded his tunics and forgot to put on socks. The wonder in his eyes the first time he saw the rain.

#from a certain point of view #my art #anakin skywalker #obi wan kenobi #i am sad #😔#anakin

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lilith-91 · 2 years

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We need to talk about Obi Wan’s LOVE for Anakin again.

“The way we both lost him, I want to say. To a needless war. To a wild heart. To a doomed prophecy.”

I NEED TO LAY DOWN

Anakin used to sleep on the floor next to Obi Wan’s bed....omg

This sent me over the edge. THE DUMB BEAUTIFUL SON OF MY DUMB BEAUTIFUL FRIEND.

Obi Wan, i’m crying :(

What if this was my last straw

The way Obi Wan described Anakin.....

MACKENZI LEE WHO HURT YOU?^^

#star wars #anakin skywalker #obi wan kenobi #obikin #luke skywalker #from a certain point of view #canon novel #Obi loved Anakin more than anyone else

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anakinlives · 24 days

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|| Star Wars Return of the Jedi (1983) ||

••••••••••••••••••••••••

Luke had stared directly into the pain and rage of Anakin Skywalker, and somehow managed to see past it all. Now he stood alone, a son offering compassion to his fallen father.

"When he called out, you answered," Obi-Wan said. "You chose him over the Emperor. You chose empathy over power. You chose a future for the galaxy, to break the rule of the Sith.

"You chose to bring balance."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Did he see us?" Anakin asked his former master.

Obi-Wan's chin dipped quickly with a nod.

"What about her?"

"She has taken her first steps. But what she does on her journey, that remains her choice. Leia has many gifts beyond the Force."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

"I have faith in them," Anakin finally said. As if that phrase unlocked the universe, the forest began to fade from his view, the feel of his corporeal body dissolving into the Force and leaving him with a single realization—an insight for the ages, so simple and yet so profound

At that moment, he chose the only thing he ever needed. It just took one final nudge from Obi-Wan to get here.

Finally, Anakin Skywalker let go.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

STAR WARS. RETURN OF THE JEDI FROM A CERTAIN POINT OF VIEW (2023) // Brotherhood short story - Mike Chen

#obi wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #star wars #i cried #return of the jedi #luke skywalker #from a certain point of view

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stormte · 9 months

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Beep boop boi

#rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt leo #he’s a great guy to draw #from a certain point of view #I’ve been feeling the incessant urge to pump out new styles and i absolutely love this little sketch i got done #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #storms art

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genderfluidsgetguns · 25 days

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me, swirling grape juice in a wine glass: "Yeah...I'll hate myself in the morning."

"For unrelated reasons, but still."

#heterohomo.txt #alcohol tw #?#from a certain point of view #i just wanna cover all my bases #shit post #shit posting #shitposting #shitpost

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darth-memes · 8 months

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#star wars #sw memes #original trilogy #empire strikes back #the empire strikes back #luke skywalker #yoda #master yoda #leia organa #from a certain point of view

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cruella1989 · 16 days

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Palpatine’s thoughts on why Luke refuses to join him, in the short story “Then Fall Sidious”. I highly recommend it to any Palpatine fan who likes him shown as a complex character and more than just the bad guy.

The story is featured in the anthology book “Star Wars Return of the Jedi: From a Certain Point of View”, and written by Olivie Blake.

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girlrandomstuff · 2 years

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Quotes about Bail and Breha being the best space couple

“She found a boy who loved her enough to take her name, forsaking his own legacy forever in the shadow of hers. Together, they kept the planet strong. She took care of the people, and he, risen to the Senate, made sure the galaxy never forgot what Alderaan could offer” —Queen's Hope

Bail felt his heart thud, looking at her beautiful hologram face "Don't worry, B, nothing's wrong" she said [...] "I just wanted you to know I'm thinking of you. You look tired. Are you getting enough sleep? I'll bet you're not. Go to bed, hotshot. I'll try to catch you tomorrow" —Wild Space

“Your majesty” Bail Organa said with a profound sort of affection that made Padme’s heart flipp.

“She placed a hand on her chest when she spoke [...] Senator Organa came close to draw out his wife’s chair and hand her into it. His fingers rested in hers for a moment longer than was truly necessary.” —Queen's Shadow

Ahsoka novel:

“Had to find some other adventures, started chasing your mother instead” —Bail Organa, Obi Wan Kenobi 2022.

“They had a way of speaking to each other without words, such a perfect understanding that sometimes Leia thought they didn't need to talk at all [...] Not all spouses were like this, that not everyone found the kind of love that was like sharing souls”

“Instead, [Leia] she'd heard them laughing softly and flirting... and she'd wound up scurrying out, just in time to avoid a very unwelcome lesson about exactly what spouses did together in their private hours” —Leia, Princess of Alderaan

From a Certain Point of View, “Eclipse”:

“They had known each other for so long, survived so much, but in all their private mythology never had she seen him look this way. Her husband, a man of unshakeable courage and faith, now shaken to his core.”

The love they reflect for the other and their daughter when they're watching their planet being destroy and seeing their own death is so sad and beautiful

#star wars #breha organa #bail organa #leia organa #obi wan kenobi #queen breha #queen's hope #queen's shadow #ahsoka tano #novel #sw books #leia princess of alderaan #from a certain point of view #eclipse short story #hanleia #han solo #disney series #movies

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redstuffs-ig · 2 months

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Browsing Wookieepedia as one usually does and found this in the section about the "Wait For It" story in the From A Certain Point of View series, this time focused on Boba Fett during the events of ESB:

Boba and the other bounty hunters were given permission to use any means necessary to capture Skywalker's friends, as long as they were captured alive. Vader singled out Boba and warned against disintegrations, to which Fett responded as the Sith Lord wished.

Fett then returned to the hangar bay with Bossk and Dengar. As the trio discussed the matter, Dengar smirked and suggested that they team up to track Solo together, to which Bossk sarcastically remarked that "Krayt's Claw lives again." Fett turned down the suggestion, stating that he needed the credits, though he wished luck to his fellow bounty hunters, before they went their separate ways.

THEY CAN'T KEEP TEASING US LIKE THIS THE MOTHERFUCKERS

#krayt's claw #boba fett #bossk #dengar #star wars #empire strikes back #from a certain point of view

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lummox-exe · 9 months

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YOU GUYS?? THIS IS IT. THIS IS THE END OF THEIR STORY AND ITS WRITTEN BY SOMEONE WHO LOVES THE ROTS NOVEL?? MIKE CHEN IS GONNA CLEAR THIS I CANNOT WAIT

#no I’m gonna be inconsolable #a fucking mess #holy shit i can’t believe we’re getting this #obi wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #rots novelization #mike chen #from a certain point of view

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